NEW DEAL AND PLENTY OF WORK AHEAD FOR TRELIVING
Burke still running hockey operations but Conroy in line for Sabres’ GM job
Hours before the Calgary Flames finally got around to extending Brad Treliving as their GM, his right-hand man was in Buffalo, auditioning for the top job there.
Postmedia has learned Flames assistant GM Craig Conroy interviewed Monday for the vacant job as Sabres GM, potentially adding to the long list of things Treliving has to deal with this summer.
And should the Flames lose the ever-popular former captain to his home state, it will add another significant name to the massive list of front-office types he needs to sign right away.
“It’s not everybody but it’s a large portion of people,” admitted Treliving of his first order of business, which is securing the services of dozens of people in his hockey operations department who are anxious to firm up future employment.
“We’ve got some work to do. The important piece is getting back to the work we have. I’m where I want to be.”
With the Sabres in search of new leadership, Flames fans were starting to worry and wonder why Treliving hadn’t been extended much earlier. After all, the organization has certainly progressed with him at the helm for the last three years, compiling a 125-103-18 record.
Making the playoffs twice and building a solid young core that has the team positioned well for the future, keeping the 47-yearold Treliving as the architect was certainly an important part of the continuity needed here.
“Just a normal order of business is what it is,” said Flames president and CEO Ken King of the delay in signing Treliving and the bulk of his colleagues.
“No one should read anything into time frames at all. This is the time of year you deal with it. We’re not unorthodox.”
King confirmed the Flames ownership group has decided to abandon the age-old practice in pro sports of re-upping employees one year away from their contract expiring. For reasons why, look no further than the $2 million Bob Hartley made this year to fish in Florida.
King insisted it was business as usual for Treliving, who worked the last few weeks towards getting other staffers ready to be resigned.
He confirmed the Sabres had obtained permission from the Flames to interview Conroy.
After being part of Calgary’s front office since his retirement in 2011, Conroy is one of a halfdozen serious candidates for the Buffalo job.
Brian Burke isn’t on that list and will continue to head up the Flames’ hockey operations — a perch from which he hired Treliving from the Coyotes organization, where he was an assistant GM.
Armed with a tremendous work ethic, connections and plenty of savvy, Treliving did plenty to warrant the “multi-year” extension announced Monday. He wouldn’t say exactly how long the deal was for fear there would be another two or three-month stretch of speculation nearing its completion, like the one he just lived through.
Highlights of his time in Calgary include signing T.J. Brodie and Mikael Backlund to cap-friendly deals, locking up Johnny Gaudreau, Mark Giordano and Sean Monahan long-term, stealing Dougie Hamilton from the Bruins and plucking Michael Frolik, Kris Versteeg and Deryk Engelland from free agency. He also got solid trade-deadline returns for Kris Russell, Curtis Glencross and Jiri Hudler.
Down the stretch this year his acquisitions of Matt Bartkowski and Michael Stone solidified a defence that helped turn the Flames fortunes around with a late, 10-game winning streak that got the Flames back into the playoff hunt.
His misses, which every GM has, include deals for Brandon Bollig, Lance Bouma and Mason Raymond. Hardly crippling. The jury is still out on the four-year, $18 million deal for Troy Brouwer signed last summer.
The successful coaching change to Glen Gulutzan and picking Matthew Tkachuk sixth overall are two other feathers in his cap.
Treliving’s list of things to do now includes filling out his staff, preparing for the expansion draft, monitoring the Stockton Heat’s playoff run, scouting the World Championships, prepping for the Entry Draft and negotiating deals for several players including Sam Bennett, Micheal Ferland and Curtis Lazar.
Oh, and he needs to find a starting goalie, presumably to work alongside free agent Chad Johnson.
Relatively speaking, the decisions he has to make aren’t as big as past summers, which is a testament to how solid a core he’s built. Still, change is needed to boost a team that last in four straight to Anaheim.
“We’ve made strides and the good news is, I think we’ll have guys pushing for jobs in October,” said Treliving, who has done well to stock the shelves with prospects.
“The reality is, we’ll have to make some changes and moves to get better. There will be some tough decisions but that’s part of the job.”
A job he’s happy to continue doing.